Jason Collins
Jason Collins
Jason Paul Collinsis an American retired professional basketball player who played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association. He played college basketball for Stanford University where he was an All-American in 2000–01, before being drafted 18th overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets. He went on to play for the New Jersey Nets, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Washington Wizards and Brooklyn Nets...
ProfessionBasketball Player
Date of Birth2 December 1978
CityLos Angeles, CA
I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay. I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, 'I'm different.' If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand.
With the winning streaks we've had, we've shown that we're capable of beating the best teams in this league and playing at an extremely high level.
Things can change in an instant, so why not live truthfully?
The most you can do is stand up for what you believe in. I'm much happier since coming out to my friends and family. Being genuine and honest makes me happy.
Openness may not completely disarm prejudice, but it's a good place to start.
Guarding Shaq is not a one-man job. It's going to be by committee.
In their six losses, three of them have been to the Collins twins. That's the key ingredient right there.
It's not good. It's tough because this has been my not-so-bad-as-the-other-one leg. It is better. The night after the game, it was really bad. I couldn't even bend my knee.
It's the epitome of a lot of hard work. We're all hitting shots. Seems like if you shoot a 3, it's going in.
Sometimes we're not following the game plans. It's a collective effort. It's everybody and we have to do a better job of avoiding it.
He got fined $15,000? Maybe we should get fined, because there were a couple of calls that didn't go our way. But this is the NBA. Referees are going to make calls as a player, you have to play through them.
When I was younger I dated women. I even got engaged. I thought I had to live a certain way. I thought I needed to marry a woman and raise kids with her. I kept telling myself the sky was red, but I always knew it was blue.
I'm a veteran, and I've earned the right to be heard. I'll lead by example and show that gay players are no different from straight ones. I'm not the loudest person in the room, but I'll speak up when something isn't right. And try to make everyone laugh.
I knew that I was choosing the road less traveled but I'm not walking it alone.